The present invention relates to certain substituted 2-nitrobenzofuran compounds which are active antimicrobial agents, to processes for their use and to intermediates in their preparation.
Many 2-nitrofurans and a number of 2-nitrobenzofurans are known, and some of the latter are known to have anti-microbial activity (see, for example, Belgian Pat. No. 846,502 and German Offenlegungsschrift No. P 2642877 which disclose 2-nitrobenzofurans substituted by an alkanoic acid group as having antimicrobial activity). However, 2-nitrobenzofurans in which the furan ring is either fused to or substituted by a fused ring system (as is the case in the present invention) have not been known previously.